The architecture of a proposed bowling alley will be one of the biggest factors in whether Peachtree City’s Planning Commission will recommend a zoning restriction be removed for the property, the developer was told Monday night.
Oasis Bowling Centers wants to build near the AutoZone along Ga. Highway 74 South and Rockaway Road. The building would have 24 lanes to start with, with the potential to expand to 30 lanes at a later date, along with an arcade and a bar and restaurant.
A zoning restriction from when the property was rezoned in September 2007 forbids a bowling alley as a use, so the City Council is in the driver’s seat and can turn the bowling alley down if it wishes.
Other than just the architecture, also to be taken into account along with the architecture are the wishes of neighbors in the nearby Wilshire Estates subdivision. Although none appeared at Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, their concerns were communicated by Beth Pullias, the president of the Peachtree Civic Association.
Among those were seeing the landscape plan, concern about the amount of impervious surface, whether the busy times are going to impact traffic in the area and the need to have safe access beyond the current at-grade crossing on Rockaway Road for the city’s cart path system.
Another significant concern from the neighbors is the possibility that alcohol will be sold at the bowling center, Pullias said.
Developer Mike Stephens said at Oasis’s two locations in Loganville and Buford, the company uses private security and off-duty police officers to make sure the area is safe.
Alternate Commissioner Frank DiStadio asked if either location had trouble with gang activity.
“We don’t allow that,” Stephens replied. “We have security. They’ll do whatever they want to in the parking lot if you’ll let them, same as any other shopping center anywhere else you go.”
Stephens said the business would employ about a dozen people full-time and another 30 or more part-time.
Stephens even offered to send a bus to Peachtree City so interested persons could take a look at his Loganville bowling center on a Tuesday night.
The Loganville and Buford locations are open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sundays through Thursdays, and from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Stephens said.
Planning Commissioner Patrick Staples noted that a bowling alley has been the most requested business from citizens he has had contact with since being on the commission.
He noted, however, that since the business would be located at one of the gateway entrances to the city, more would be expected of the plan, particularly when it comes to landscaping and architecture.
